This is how you can swap unused toys for a brand new one – all for a good cause

The average UK family has over £100 worth of unused toys at home (Photo: Shutterstock)

Aimee Stanton

Published:12:05 pmDecember 5, 2018

If your home is littered with unused toys, you could receive money off a brand new robot in time for Christmas simply by donating to Barnardo’s.

AI and robotics company Anki has teamed up with the children’s charity to launch a Christmas toy amnesty on 8 and 9 December, where families who donate toys to their local Barnardo’s store will receive a £50 discount off a popular Cozmo toy.

£100 worth of unused toys in every household

According to research by Anki, the average UK family has over £100 worth of unused toys at home, resulting in £411 million worth of discarded toys around the UK.

The toy amnesty is aiming to use those unwanted toys to provide support to vulnerable children and families across the UK.

Rewarding kids for donating their toys

“In every community there are children who don’t have toys to play with, but at the same time thousands of pounds worth of toys sit unused in homes across the UK,” explained Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Javed Khan.

Parents need to tweet a picture of them donating toys to receive a discount on the Cozmo toy (Photo: Anki)

“We hope that families will donate their unused toys to Barnardo’s this Christmas, knowing children will benefit from their kindness.

“Profits from donated items will go to our front line, helping us continue to support some of the most vulnerable children and families.”

Cozmo was found to be the best selling toy of 2017 on Amazon UK, and helps kids with coding activities and games.

A spokesperson from Anki said, “We’re really pleased to be able to support Barnardo’s at this important time of year.

“We’d also like to thank the children who donated their unwanted toys and hope that families feel Cozmo – with all his games, fun coding platform and regular updates – is a worthy replacement for their donations.”

How to claim money off Cozmo

To claim the £50 voucher, parents need to tweet a photo of themselves or their child donating a bag of toys to their local Barnardo’s shop to @anki and @barnardosretail, and include the hashtag #CozmoxBarnardos.

Parents will then be sent a unique £50 discount code to buy a Cozmo through the Anki website. It must be redeemed before 10:30am on 19 December to ensure delivery before Christmas.